WFA research identifies drivers of successful marketing organisations

When asked what the marketer of the future looks like, responses by senior marketers went from focusing on growth and having a commercial mindset to being resilient and adaptable, but also – and more importantly – returning to the marketing fundamentals. Curiosity, sensibility and speaking the language of the business were also named as necessities for the global marketer going forward.

The Marketer of the Future 2025 report, conducted in collaboration with WFA’s strategic partner for capabilities, Oxford, identifies key areas where marketers who are leading and helping to grow their brands are succeeding and where struggling brands are failing to compete.

These areas include marketing fundamentals, growth goals, organisational integration, technology and the ability to demonstrate the value of marketing to other C-suite stakeholders.

The 2025 study also reveals a greater sense of positivity towards the future of the CMO role than its 2020 predecessor. Just 10% say ‘the role of the CMO won’t exist in 10 years’ time’, down from 19% in 2020. 

The results are based on responses from almost 600 companies in 25 countries, representing a cumulative global marketing spend of approximately $US90bn. We partnered with more than 20 of our National Advertiser Associations to capture the performance of both the world’s largest brands as well as those focused on single markets.

Further qualitative interviews with 25 global brand leaders, including Cristina Diezhandino, CMO at Diageo, Tamara Rogers, CMO at Haleon, Allyson Witherspoon, CMO at Nissan Motor Corporation and Edward Bell, CMO at Cathay Pacific, helped identify what the leaders (companies that self-report as overperforming compared to their sector) against laggards (those who self-report as underperforming versus their sector) are doing better than the underperformers.

The five key areas of difference are:

1. Marketing fundamentals are at risk

Many marketers are losing focus on core principles while chasing new tools, trends and AI hype. The best have prioritised doing the fundamentals well while also gathering new skills. Only 39% of under-performing companies have strong brand, strategy and creative foundations, compared to 63% of competitive leaders, reinforcing how strategy, creativity and brand-building are key to long-term success.

2. Leaders seize trends and insights to unlock growth priorities

Leaders have clarity of thought when it comes to growth goals. Competitive leaders are 11% less concerned about short-term pressures than others, signalling a shift towards long-term, sustainable growth. Forty-three percent of top marketers prioritise consumer and market insights, compared to just 24% of struggling performers.

3. Cross-functional integration remains a huge challenge

Ninety-seven percent of competitive leaders say fast decision-making and cross-team collaboration are critical and 78% recognise cross-functional integration as essential for success. By contrast, laggards fail to align marketing, sales and e-commerce functions resulting in siloed teams that create fragmented customer experiences, weakening brand trust and commercial performance.

4. Leaders seamlessly combine AI and human thinking

AI is a growth driver for leading companies, helping them enhance creativity, decision-making and efficiency. Twenty-nine percent of competitive leaders see transformational change in people and tech as extremely important in driving future change. Failing to adopt AI effectively leads to missed opportunities and inefficiencies.

5. Marketing’s influence in the C-suite is at a crossroads

The leading C-suite marketers stand out by being able to demonstrate and communicate their impact to all stakeholders, increasing marketing’s mandate (and therefore the ability to reinvest in both marketing fundamentals and next gen skills). Forty-three percent of competitive leaders see C-suite influence as crucial, compared to just 23% of struggling marketers. Forty-six percent of leading marketers hold greater leadership influence such as board level appointments, proving that strategic marketing drives business growth.

“We work in a very fast-paced industry beholden to new technologies and fast-changing consumer habits so it’s sometimes easy to get carried away by the shiny and new. This research is a timely reminder that successful marketers start with the fundamentals; develop a clear strategy, objectives, positioning, target audience and KPIs. That is the bedrock around which to build an organisation and then develop the skills, leveraging new tech to help achieve brand growth,” said Stephan Loerke, CEO at WFA.  

Marketer of the Future 2025 is designed to assess how brands build the right capabilities in the era of data, AI and transformation. The issue has long been a top topic for WFA members who are keen to understand what they need from their people in terms of skills and organisation both internally and externally.

“Fit for the future foundations are a massive unlock to being able to cope with the speed and complexity that brand and commercial teams operate in today – a simple, joined-up red-thread allows teams to focus more on what they need to do together to drive growth and less on how they’ll do it together. So often it’s what’s missing or has been forgotten,” said Peter Kirkby, Managing Consultant at Oxford.

The research is available for download here.